Wallflower
by Nix's Library
Summary: Because sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can really hurt you. John/Ryback


**Hello, my name is Nix, and this is my very first posted story. I hope you enjoy it. Warning, this contains scenes of slash and child neglect. Bug you? Than there's a cute little back button in the top right of your browser window. Enjoy.**

* * *

You should never judge a book by it's cover, they said. Humans never really listen well, do they.

The food jokes. The monster jokes. The damn Goldberg jokes. Ryback couldn't take it anymore. It was all suffocating him.

As he walked down the hallways of the hotel, he was overly aware of the stares, the whispers. Would anyone believe him if Ryback had told them that he was shy? That he was a broken man? That he was...human?

Ryback shook his head. Of course they wouldn't. He was Big Hungry, the top of the food chain.

Ryback hastily pulled out his room key and opened the door. He remembered that he still didn't know who his roommate was. Oh well. He thought I'll find out in about five seconds.

He shut the door and turned around, only to find himself face to face with John Cena of all people.

Ryback could feel himself tense, his face heat up. Why, why did the hotel have to pair him up with the one man he was trying to avoid?

Because, He thought, answering his own question Fate is a cruel, cruel mistress.

"Hey there, Ryback!" John greeted cheerily "It's about time that I learned who I was rooming with! Strange how they kept us in the dark about it, huh?"

Ryback nodded and walked further into the room, throwing his bag on the unclaimed bed. The bed next to it already had it's covers pulled back, and clothes strewn about on it.

"I already used the bathroom, so you can use it, if you need to." John said, still using that cheery tone that Ryback both loved and despised.

Ryback muttered his thanks, gathered the things he would need, and quickly retreated into the bathroom.

Once he had stripped himself of his clothes, Ryback turned on the shower as hot as it would go and hopped inside of it, leting the scalding water relieve his throbbing muscles.

Ryback took this time to ponder his current situation. He was in a hotel room with John Cena, the man who he'd had a crush on since the summer. The man who he had to fight against for the title. The man who had treated him so nicely when he'd first joined the WWE.

Ryback sighed. He knew he didn't have a chance with the legandary John Cena. No one did. The only person who had even a sliver of a chance was Punk, and...well, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Ryback turned the water off and dried himself off, trying to stall as long as he could. But he'd already spent about twenty minutes in the bathroom, and for him, that was pushing it.

After putting on some loose sleep clothes, Ryback quietly exited the bathroom, bracing himself to face John. Luckily, he found John already asleep and the TV playing a cheesy action movie.

Ryback turned the TV off and fell into his own bed, feeling his eyes grow heavy.

He didn't particularly want to go to sleep, but like he said, fate's a cruel mistress.

* * *

"You stupid brat!"

The scent of vomit and alcohol was almost overpowering. The five-year-old child surely would've keeled over, if he hadn't already been used to it.

The large, obviously drunk woman towering over him was beating him with a switch, ignoring the boy's pained crys, and shouting obscenities at him.

The child's crime? Coming home late from school.

"Do you think I have anything better to do than to come and find your ass after school everyday?" The woman bellowed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The child sobbed, trying fruitlessly to shield himself from his mother's strikes.

The woman landed a couple more blows before picking the boy up, and throwing him into his bedroom.

"Make sure it dosen't happen again, brat!" The woman screamed "And you can forget about having dinner!" And with that, she slammed the door.

What dinner? The child thought You never feed me anyway.

The child curled up in a corner and cried, making sure that he wasn't too loud, in fear of another beating.

Somebody...please help me.

* * *

Ryback jolted awake with a gasp. His hands flew to his shoulder, and he sighed in relief when he felt no dents from the switch in his dream.

Ryback sat up and drew a hand down his face. He turned to the other bed to make sure that John was still asleep. To his relief, he appeared to be out cold.

Ryback carefully got out of bed and walked over to the large sliding door leading to a balcony. He opened the door, slipped outside, and shut the door.

It had happened again. His past would never leave him alone, wouldn't it? Even after he'd run away when he was ten, visions of his mother wouldn't leave him alone. It was driving him to the point of insanity!

"Ryback?"

Ryback jumped and turned around quickly. John was standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright? You were crying in your sleep."

Crying...? Ryback touched his cheek, surprised to find it wet. I didn't even notice...

John got closer, and Ryback tensed up, half wanting to push him away, half wanting to dive into his arms.

Ryback shook his head to chases away the thoughts. "I'm fine..." He said, moving towards the door to go back inside.

John caught him by the chest. "Ryback, I'm no fool. Was it a nightmare that woke you?"

"I wish." Ryback whispered, his breath catching in his throat "Nightmares aren't real."

Now John was really worried. Ryback could see it on his face. But just when Ryback thought he could get away, John pulled him into a hug. Ryback's eyes widened considerably. "J-John, I-"

"Abused?" John asked quietly.

Ryback was still for a minute. Was it really that easy to see? Then he nodded. "Mother was an alcoholic."

"No father? Siblings?"

"Only child. Father left before I was born."

John nodded and picked Ryback up bridal style. Ryback dared not to move or complain. He didn't want to wake up from the first good dream he'd had for a long time.

John placed Ryback in a bed before climbing in with him and covering the both of them with the blankets.

Ryback shifted so he could look John in the eye. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but John shook his head and smiled a bit.

"I wonder why I always get the roommates with the tragic pasts." John pondered.

Ryback chuckled, shrugged, and whispered, "Fate can be a cruel mistress sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

Ryback nodded. "And then sometimes she decides to be generous and give you someone who understands."

John chuckled. "You know, to be honest, I should've seen it coming. You've always seemed so shy, a wallflower. It couldn't have been just a shy man."

"Maybe..." Ryback said "The wallflower just needed someone to listen to what it needed, instead of people telling it what they thought it needed."

"What is it that you need, little wallflower?"

"This."

About five minutes later, both Ryback and John fell asleep, John's chin rested upon the top of Ryback's head, and Ryback buried into John's chest.

There were no more dreams, nightmares, or memories that night.

The past is just that- the past. Live in the presant, and welcome the future with open arms; you never know what could be waiting for you outside of the past.

The End


End file.
